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Masters debut part of Green's colorful legacy
Posted: Wednesday April 09, 2003 7:46 PM
Updated: Thursday April 10, 2003 3:07 AM
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Ken Green reacts to a putt on the 13th green at the 1986 Masters. Bombing in putts from long range - 70, 50, 40 and 35 feet - the previously anonymous Green posted a 68 that gave him the first-round lead. File/AugustaChronicle |
By Scott Michaux
The Augusta Chronicle
Ten years before Tiger Woods had his famous "Hello world!" introduction as a professional to the Milwaukee press corps, Ken Green had his Masters Tournament splash in 1986.
"I'm not an unknown," Green said after his opening-round 68 in his Masters debut had him tied with Billy Kratzert for the lead. "I am not a quiet clone. I do have color. Everybody in my family knows me. I'm not a quiet guy. Let that be written."
From his 1985 Buick Open victory that qualified him for his first Masters, through four other career victories, one crushing divorce, outcast tour status and his resurrection at the 2002 PGA Tour qualifying school, Green has proven to be one of the most colorful stories in golf. Certainly never quiet.
But his real rise to prominence came that Thursday in April 1986 when colossal birdie putts of 70, 50, 40 and 35 feet sprung him and his wit on an unsuspecting golfing public. Just days before, Green was so obscure that a woman at the 9th green saw him and Hubert Green playing together and asked Ken why Hubert had two caddies.
"Just who is this Ken Green?" the Connecticut native heard a spectator ask as he putted his way to a share of the first-round lead.
Until his long-range putting pushed his name to the top of the leaderboard, the only thing noticeable about Green that week had been his caddie, his 29-year-old sister Shelley, who was described in the newspaper as "by far the prettiest (caddie) at the National this week." Green said his older sister "doesn't have a clue about golf" and was therefore a perfect partner for his quirky approach.
Green took to Augusta National Golf Club immediately. He drained a 40-foot birdie putt on the first hole and backed it up with a 70-footer on No. 5 that he called "your basic tap-in." Long birdie putts at 16 and 18 vaulted him to the lead on a day when a scoring average of 75.16 was dictated by gusting winds.
"I'm not going to say I will hold up and I'm not going to say I won't hold up," Green said of his early lead. "I'm trying to downplay the tournament as much as I can. If I say, 'Gosh, the Masters!' I'll choke."
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